Opinion: Dejan Kulusevski must start for Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Tottenham Hotspur were handed a rare boost against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, as Dejan Kulusevski made a return way ahead of schedule, giving the Lilywhites something to celebrate ahead of their Europa League second-leg tie.
One could argue that there were little to no positives to take away from Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-2 loss at Molineux on Sunday.
In fact, that very defeat now marks Spurs’ 17th of the season after 32 matches, and should they fail to get eight points from their remaining six games in the league, the Lilywhites would be staring down the barrel of their lowest-ever Premier League points return.
One could even go as far as to say that should Ange Postecoglou fail to secure a victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, the writing could well be on the wall for the Australian, whose back Spurs fans might just be seeing.
Dejan Kulusevski’s return hands Tottenham a major lift ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt clash
However, the Tottenham boss has now been handed a major boost ahead of Thursday’s fixture, as injured star Dejan Kulusevski made a return for Spurs in their most recent 4-2 loss against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
This is undoubtedly one of the rare silver linings from that abysmal defeat, as Kulusevski was a major doubt ahead of the clash and was only expected to feature from the bench in the Europa League tie.
When asked about Kulusevski’s fitness, Postecoglou revealed ahead of the Wolves clash: “Deki has trained today with the players who didn’t play last night. He looked really good.
“He’s not available this weekend [Sunday against Wolves], and he won’t start on Thursday because he’s been out for so long but he’s looking good.”
Kulusevski did make the bench against Wolves in the Premier League and managed to get a solid 15 minutes under his belt after replacing James Maddison.
Why Kulusevski must start for Spurs in Europa League quarter-final second leg
Of course, with the Swede now back on the grass, one would expect he’s handed a start against Eintracht Frankfurt. Kulusevski has definitely been one of Tottenham’s best players this season, and his availability is a weapon Spurs need to make use of.
In his brief cameo, Dejan Kulusevski completed 4/5 passes, had one touch in the opposition box, and played a pass into the final third for Tottenham. Defensively, he was just as sharp — one tackle won (1/1), one interception, three defensive actions, and two recoveries.
He also won two of his four duels. With his defensive work rate, he absolutely needs to be starting on the right ahead of Brennan Johnson, who did little to nothing in terms of helping Archie Gray against Wolves.
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